The present invention refers to an apparatus for and method of gently packaging a product, and in particular to an apparatus for and method of loosening a product of a type which can be affected by external influences and is composed of a plurality of separable components tending to adhere to one another.
Such an apparatus and such a method are required in connection with making and packaging prepared foods in order to gently loosen batches of cooked products which are stored in containers and to separate the product components before being placed on a conveyor for transfer to a metering device and packaging device. In particular, noodles adhere to one another or agglomerate to varying degrees in dependence on their shape and time passed since the cooking procedure. In addition, some types of noodles such as spaghetti or macaroni tend additionally to become entangled. Attempts to mechanically separate these products which are very sensitive to external influences resulted almost always in impaired appearance of the product in the packaging containers. This, however, should be avoided.